In this picture taken March 8, 2012, Mexican-American singer and reality TV star Jenni Rivera poses during an interview in Los Angeles. The wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying Mexican-American music superstar Jenni Rivera was found in northern Mexico on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, and there are no apparent survivors, authorities said. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (Reed Saxon)

A candlelight vigil for Mexican-American superstar Jenni Rivera is planned in Long Beach tonight as her hometown community joined others around the world in mourning her death.

According to Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, the vigil, which is being organized by local nonprofit California Families in Focus, is planned for 6:30 p.m. at 1017 Obispo Ave. in Long Beach, where he said members of Rivera's family will speak.

Garcia said he mourned Rivera's death, adding that the star was still connected and committed to her hometown community. The three-time Grammy nominee who played Spanish-language grupero music died in a plane crash early Sunday near Monterrey, Mexico.

"It's a huge tragedy and loss for everybody," Garcia said. "She's a part of Long Beach and she's part of the world. She's certainly one of the biggest names to ever come out of the city."

At Rivera's first high school, Long Beach's Poly High, an impromptu memorial of a few candles and two pots of poinsettias had been set up at the school's Walk of Fame at Martin Luther King Boulevard and 16 th Street.

Rivera received a star there honoring her in July 2011, where a crowd of about 200 fans turned out for the event.

"It was a sight," said City Councilman Dee Andrews, adding that the singer was quite modest.

"She was down to earth," Andrews added. "We felt it was an honor to honor her."

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During the ceremony, Rivera described herself as "a nerd who played in the marching band on this same field."

"I played my music then, and today I've come back because of my music," Rivera said at the time.

Rivera later transferred from Poly High and attended Reid Continuation High School after getting pregnant at the age of 15.

At the Poly High campus today, many students said they weren't aware that Rivera had been a student there in the late 1980s.

But some staff members knew about the famous singer's connection to the school.

"I'm still shocked," Veronica Vega, an enrollment employee, said about Rivera's death.

Jessica Quintana, executive director of Centro CHA, a nonprofit Latino social service agency formed in 1992 in Long Beach, said she fondly remembers Rivera before she hit stardom while the two lived in West Long Beach.

Quintana said Rivera, like many other mothers in the area, was raising her children and pursuing a career. Rivera grew up in a poverty stricken area that would later be highlighted in her music, she said.

"She was an inspiration because she always kept it real," Quintana said. "She talked about her life in a very open way and really cared about the issues that affected women, like poverty, domestic violence and independence."

Quintana said she wasn't surprised at the level of fame that Rivera attained.

"People could relate to her struggles, that's why so many people loved her," said Quintana. "She captivated her audience by being herself at all times and being open with her life through her music and interviews with the press. She always remained grounded."

After her teenage pregnancy, Rivera used the obstacle as inspiration to move forward and transferred to Reid Continuation High School to earn her diploma, she told the Press-Telegram in May 2011.

"Growing up in Long Beach, I learned to face the world. I also learned that I wanted more for myself and wanted to become something," Rivera said during the interview at her $3 million mansion in the San Fernando Valley.

After high school she was offered eight scholarships to attend Long Beach City College and Cal State Long Beach, she said.

Rivera was the most famous daughter of a musical family that includes four brothers who have recorded music, and as her music career took off, Rivera faced several public scandals.

In 2007 her ex-husband, Trinidad Marin, was found guilty of sexual abuse for molesting her oldest daughter and youngest sister. She had three other children.

None of the controversies seemed to impact her musical career.

Rivera sold more than 15 million copies of her 12 major-label albums and won a string of Latin music awards. Her shows filled both the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Mexico's National Auditorium, a feat few male singers in her industry achieved.

Many of her songs dealt with themes of dignity in the face of heartbreak, and her shows were known for their festive atmosphere and her intimate interactions with her fans. She would fill song requests from fans who had suffered heartbreak and setbacks, and would often pull women and girls onto stage to personally tell them to keep moving forward.

Rivera's plane was taking her and aides to the central Mexican city of Toluca after a Saturday night concert before thousands in the northern city of Monterrey. After the concert she gave a press conference during which she spoke of her emotional state following her recent move to divorce former Major League Baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza, who played for teams including the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rivera announced in October that she was divorcing Loaiza after two years of marriage.

As a singer, she continued to inspire fans as well as up-and-coming musicians.

Karla Morales, 28, of Wrightwood, said she met Rivera backstage at her concert in 2008 and remained in contact with the singer and her family over the years.

The Wrightwood resident is trying to break into the Latin pop industry herself and looked to Rivera as an inspirational figure, Morales said.

"To be in front of a person of that magnitude and artistic background, it was an honor even to speak to her," said Morales, a Pomona native and former Mt. San Antonio College student. "She told me not to give up and gave me very positive feedback. I appreciated that, because not a lot of artists would take the time to do that."

She described Rivera as "down-to-earth" and a role model for women. The singer looked to her family, especially to her father, as her motivation, Morales said.

"I'm in shock," Morales said of Rivera's death. "A part of me just wants to know and believe that she's alive out there. That she's not gone."

It was that mentoring role that led Quintana and other local Latino community leaders to seek out Rivera.

During the past year, Quintana had reached out to the signer to partner in an event to benefit West Long Beach. Although it didn't come to fruition because of Rivera's packed schedule, Rivera was eager to come back to her old neighborhood to help out any way she could, said Quintana.

"We wanted to recognize her because she had done so much with her life despite her struggles," said Quintana. "Jenni could always relate to the constituents we serve. There are a lot of people here that are still going through the same challenges that she went through."

Centro CHA hoped to bring Rivera back to the Westside to work with her on building a center for women and children that would provide resources for women dealing with domestic violence, teen mothers and others.

"That would be the ultimate legacy we could give her," said Quintana. "We hope to still be able to keep up her legacy in Long Beach in the near future.

About Rivera's death, Quintana added: "This is going to impact a lot of people in this city. ... This is a huge loss for Long Beach."